Fernando Torres is good again and deserves a new contract

There was a time when Fernando Torres might have questioned the adage that "form is temporary and class is permanent." The 'temporary' slump in form had become a permanent source of frustration for him and Atletico fans, and there was a question mark hanging over his future at the Vicente Calderon.

His five goals in eight La Liga games have allayed fears that Torres is finished in Madrid and his recent run of goals will surely see him sign a one year contract to keep him at the club. He has become a focal point in Atletico's attack - something that Luciano Vietto, to date, has not been able to do - and he stretches the field, giving Griezmann and Koke, in particular, space underneath to create, score and run at opposing defenses.

Diego Simeone, his backroom staff and Atletico Madrid fans can hardly be faulted for their work in recruiting young talent from around the world and making sure their older, more influential players are content as they surge forward into a world where they compete on a regular basis with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Europe's top eight sides.

One aspect of their recruiting process that has not produced results, however, has been their efforts to replace Diego Costa; a short stint at the club for Mario Mandzukic followed by a horrendous six months for Jackson Martinez is proof the conveyor belt that supplied Atletico with Torres, Radamel Falcao, Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa has its limits.

Diego Simeone is going to have to stick with the tried and trusted until that number nine that could tip them over the edge and into a world where Champions League finals and semi-finals are an annual occurrence arrives; that's not necessarily a bad thing though. With a front three of Luciano Vietto, Fernando Torres and Borja Baston - a player returning from a loan spell at Eibar - Simeone has options and can continue to use a strategy where he plays his hottest hand on a rotating basis.

And if that doesn't happen to be Torres? El Nino has proven that he is willing to sit on the bench and help the team in whatever way he can and Diego Simeone talks incessantly about the quality of minutes over the number of minutes a player gets on any given match day. At 32 years old, you can not expect Torres to be the constant game-changer in a team filled with young and world-class talent but he can certainly help their cause.

There were some genuine fears that Atletico were doomed to spend the next couple of years eking out 1-0 victories and hoping that a match-winner appeared, almost like an epiphany, when his side needed him the most. This, as it might sound, is not the soundest tactic and there have been times over the last nine months when that second goal eluded them and nervous times were had.

They have 18 goals in their last six games in La Liga and even if Atletico's title chase and Champions League dream do end in failure in the coming weeks, the foundation of a productive and coherent attack built in the last few weeks will stand to Atletico and assure fans that they can rely on their strikers to get goals and create chances: Just like Fernando Torres has in his last eight games.